1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices and systems for sports training and entertainment and more specifically to a trajectory detection and feed back systems and outcome prediction in sporting environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
In sports, player performance is primarily results based. A player is said to be a good player when they produce a consistent result over some range of circumstances. For instance, a professional basketball player might be considered good when on average they produce a certain number of points per game, rebounds, assists, etc., over the course of a season. A player is said to be a great player when they produce a consistent result in more extreme circumstances, such as, in a championship or play-off game as well as providing good performances on average at other times. For example, some basketball players are known for being able to “take over a game” or impose their will on another team in certain situations and are considered to be great for this ability.
The difference between a great and a good player is often described as some intangible quality, such as their will or drive to succeed. Sometimes even when a player produces what appears to be a result consistent with a great player, it is argued that the player is not really great and their performance is a result of circumstances, such as having a really great supporting team. Further, in general, it is often difficult, in a quantifiable manner, to classify and distinguish the performances between players of varying abilities or to distinguish between varying performances by the same player, in regards to answering the questions, such as, why is player 1 good while player 2 is average, why does the performance of a player vary so much, what is a quantifiable different between two performances?
The intangible nature of describing in a quantifiable manner the differences between performances in a sporting environment can be frustrating to players, coaches, broadcasters and spectators alike. Players want to be able identify in a quantifiable manner why their own performances vary from one to another or how their performance varies from a better player so that they can improve their performance. Coaches in team and individual sports want this information so that they can help their players improve. In team sports, coaches may want this information as a way to exploit weaknesses possessed by opposing players. Broadcasters and spectators may want this information because it can add to the entertainment value of watching a sport. Further, spectators are also participants in many of the sports they watch, and thus the spectators may want to be able to quantify and compare their own performances as well as compare their performance to the performances of professional players or other participants of the sport in general.
In view of the preceding paragraphs, methods and apparatus are described in the following paragraphs for determining quantifiable differences between performances in a sporting environment that are not strictly results based. The methods and apparatus may include but are not limited to methods and apparatus related to 1) capturing a performance in a sporting environment, 2) analyzing a performance, 3) comparing performances, 4) presenting results obtained from any analyses or comparisons, 5) archiving captured performances, analyses and comparisons and 6) providing simulations of performances using captured and analyzed performance data.